Ep 348 – 1 Peter 3:1-6

There's not a pastor alive, who is in his right mind, who wants to take on the topic of women's clothing or how they dress. It is a mine field littered with devastatingly dangerous traps that could spell disaster for even the most well-meaning pastor. But in the opening verses of 1 Peter 3, Peter is going to voluntarily run right into mine-infested territory willingly giving advice on women's hair, clothing and jewelry. And, as if that wasn't enough, he's going to call them to submit to their husbands – even if their husband is an unbeliever. Is Peter nuts? Has he lost his mind? Or is he some kind of chauvinistic, gender-biased bigot who has it out for women? We have to keep in mind that Peter has just finished talking to believing slaves, those who had come to faith in Christ, but still found themselves living in the same miserable conditions they were in before salvation. And the women to whom Peter was writing we in a similar situation, many of them having come to faith in Christ, apart from their husbands. This was a cultural taboo in Peter's day. Women were expected to practice the faith of their husbands. They were not allowed to have their own opinion about religious matters. But Peter is calling these women, who had become believers, to live out their newfound faith in such a way that they would be visible, tangible witnesses to their unbelieving spouses. For Peter, it was about a change in behavior based on a change in their standing before God.